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Your first case

This page walks through creating a new case file, importing your jury questionnaire, and configuring your panel before voir dire begins.

Before you start

You need:

  • An activated copy of JuryBinder with at least one unused trial credit
  • Your jury questionnaire in Excel format (.xlsx), if available
  • The number of jurors to seat and the number of alternates required

Step 1: Create a new case

From the JuryBinder welcome screen, select New Case.

If this is your first time using JuryBinder, the app prompts you to set up your identity (name, email, and attribution color) before proceeding. See Activating Your License for details.

Configure the case:

Field Description
Case name Displayed in the header and embedded in the case file
Case type Criminal or civil — affects default terminology
Jury size Number of jurors to seat (not including alternates)
Alternates Number of alternate jurors required
Strike limits Peremptory strikes available to each side

Select Create Case. JuryBinder creates a new .jbinder file and opens it.

Each new case uses one trial credit

Creating a case registers a trial ID with the license server and requires a brief internet connection. After the case is created, all further work is offline. See How License Keys Work for details.

Step 2: Import your questionnaire

If your court provided a pre-trial jury questionnaire in Excel format:

  1. Select Import Questionnaire from the overflow menu.
  2. Choose your .xlsx file.
  3. JuryBinder reads the juror rows and question columns and populates the panel.

If you don't have an Excel questionnaire, you can add jurors and questions manually from the Responses tab.

Questionnaire format

JuryBinder expects the questionnaire in a standard tabular layout:

  • Row 1: Question headers (for example, "Q1: Where do you live?", "Q2: Occupation")
  • Rows 2 and beyond: One row per juror, with answers in the corresponding columns
  • First column: Juror seat number or name

JuryBinder automatically detects common column names for seat numbers, first name, last name, full name, juror ID, and preferred name. If your questionnaire uses non-standard column headers, the import screen lets you map columns manually.

Prepare your questionnaire file in advance

If your questionnaire doesn't match the expected layout, reformat it in Excel before importing. One row per juror, one column per question, with a seat number or name in the first column.

Step 3: Seed flag rules from a starter preset (optional)

On a fresh questionnaire the Auto-Flags tab offers a Get Started card with four read-only starter preset bundles:

  • Baseline Cause Challenges (pre-checked; recommended for every case)
  • Criminal Defense
  • Civil Plaintiff
  • Civil Defense

Tick any combination and select Apply Selected. Rules are added for any questions that fuzzy-match one of the preset's concepts; everything else is skipped. You can hand-edit the result before or during voir dire. To move rules between your own cases, use Export Rules / Import Rules — rules travel with the case file and are never stored in your browser. See Auto-Flags → Starter Presets for the full preset catalog.

Step 4: Save your case

JuryBinder auto-saves your work to the browser's private storage as you go. To save a copy to your device's file system:

  • Desktop (Chrome or Edge): Select Save — JuryBinder writes directly to the original .jbinder file on disk. A Saved indicator appears in the header.
  • iPad: Select Export to write the file to your Files app or iCloud Drive.

Don't rely on browser storage as your only backup

Auto-save protects against unexpected tab closures, but browser storage can be cleared — especially on iOS when device storage is low. Always export your .jbinder file to your device's file system after significant work. See Offline Use → Saving work offline for details.

Next steps

Jury selection runs through five phases, each with a natural tab:

Phase What you do Where
Pre-trial review Read written questionnaire answers, rate jurors, set up auto-flags. Responses · Jurors · Auto-Flags
Intake Mark the panelists who didn't appear in court. Oral Voir Dire
Hand-raise questions Capture which seats raised their hand on the judge's general questions. Oral Voir Dire
Individual questioning Record the judge's Qualify or Strike for cause ruling on each juror until the Qualified Pool is full. Oral Voir Dire
Peremptories + seating Walk the Qualified Pool; each juror is struck by P, struck by D, or seated. Selection

The app surfaces two milestone banners on every screen to keep the flow visible: Qualification pool full (move from Oral Voir Dire to Selection) and Jury empaneled! (voir dire is complete).

If you're working with co-counsel, see Collaboration for instructions on sharing and merging case files.